6 EXECUTIVE GOLFER JUnE 2017 JUnE 2017 EXECUTIVE GOLFER 7

ROSCOMMON, NORTHERN MICHIGAN: The doctor’s eyestold the story. “Lew, you need to change your lifestyle. You had amajor heart attack. Continuing to be a workaholic will kill you.”

Lew Thompson, founder of Lew Thompson & Son TruckingCompany, faced a common dilemma of entrepreneurs. Thegreater your success and growth, the harder you work.Delegation typically isn’t in the lexicon.

“I knew I had to slow down,” saidLew. “I was fortunate. I had my son Joshto lean on and take over reigns of thecompany.

“As I expanded our family-run busi-ness, I was invited to play in countlessvendor golf tournaments—an opportuni-ty I never took advantage of. My parentsweren’t golfers, I had never played, and Icertainly didn’t know proper etiquette. Iheard golf could be a strong networkingtool, so I decided to take up the sport inmy 40s with the hope of accomplishingthree objectives: to lower my stress level,strengthen my business contacts, andget a little exercise.”

A JOB LITERALLY PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE

Lew Thompson and his wife Jackie live in Huntsville, Arkansas,a small dot on the map with a population of 1,200. “Huntsvilleis the poster child of a company town,” explained Lew.“Butterball employs 1,000 people. Thus, the opportunity tostart a small business faces hurdles.”

Undeterred, the couple built a laundromat and opened a tirestore. “We wanted to control our destiny and not report to oth-ers,” said Lew.

In 1987, they turned their attention to trucking. “HewlettPackard was started in a garage. Our trucking operation was runout of a laundromat,” smiled Lew. “Butterball was growing andI sensed an opportunity. We started with one 18-wheeler and asButterball expanded, so did our company.”

By Mark Pazdur, Publisher

It wasn’t until Lew added his fourteenth truck that he estab-lished a formal workplace. “As you can imagine, having a clientvisit me in my glass enclosed office at a laundromat didn’t pro-vide a sense of confidence and there wasn’t a Starbucks to meetover a cup of coffee. Margins were thin and I am conservative.If we had a good year, I plowed the capital back into buyinganother truck, not leasing space.”

Today, Lew Thompson & Son Trucking Company owns 125trucks, 225 trailers, has 350 employees, and hauls an incredible26 million turkeys for Butterball annually.

EASY TO SAY, HARD TO DO

Lew’s strong work ethic was put to the test to improve his hand-icap. “At first, I was embarrassed. I caught the ‘golf bug,’ andcouldn’t stand my poor skills. I did it right, bought the best clubs,and took a series of lessons from a PGA professional to slowlyhelp whittle my handicap to a respectable 16. Taking up golf inthe middle of life isn’t the easiest of tasks. I had many a nightgoing to bed with a sore back after practicing on the range.” ➤

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Our 45th Year Our 45th Year

The Publisher’s PageTHE NEXT BIG THING

The Loop at Forest Dunes Golf Club, the first open-to-the-public reversible golf course in

America, opens in Michigan.

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JUNE 2017 VOL. 45 NUMBER 317

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THE PROPERTY WAS ONCE OWNED BY WILLIAM DURANT, founder of General Motors. Durant sold the parcel in the 1930s to The DetroitPartnership, a well-known consortium of organized crime families. It became arecreational haven for Detroit mafia with a private runway, an Olympic-sizepool, indoor riding arena, interlinking tunnels to hidden rooms, and wassearched by the Feds upon the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.

Lew Thompson

The Forest Dunes clubhouse exhibits Northern Michigan’s rustic elegance.

PHOT

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PHO

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Seven years ago, Lew’s investment in golf deepenedbeyond improving his game by purchasing The BridgesGolf Club in Montrose, Colorado. “The club was strug-gling and it was an eye-opener to see how the golf indus-try works,” reported Lew. “We started with 22 membersand now have 220. This year will be the first in the com-munity’s history to be cash flow positive and we have soldmore real estate in the past 12 months than the previoussix years combined. The experience made me realize Ireally enjoy the business.”

Lew’s attention turned to Upper Michigan when afriend recommended he take a look at Forest Dunes inRoscommon, about an hour south of Treetops Resort.

“I had never heard of the club, and for that matter, Ihadn’t set foot in the state!” said Lew.

Undeterred, he flew up north to investigate.“It was love at first sight. Within 24 hours of negotiat-

ing with the bank, I bought the property. The setting ismagnificent and the Tom Weiskopf course is extraordi-nary. I felt with the right investments I could create theequivalent of an Augusta National experience for the pub-lic to enjoy,” explained Lew.

TRANSFORMING INTO A GOLF DESTINATION

It may come as a surprise, but there are more golf coursesin Michigan than California. “Competition is fierce for yourgolfing dollar,” said Lew. “We have 30 courses, includingTreetops Resort, within a 30-mile radius.

“My goal was to create a golf destination that would war-rant a couple night’s stay, not an afternoon round as youpass through town. To accomplish the task, I knew I need-ed to build a lodge and ultimately a second course. When Iopened the lodge in 2013, I quickly learned of my first mis-take. With only 14 rooms, I underestimated demand. I did-n’t want to take on debt, so I built what I could afford. Thisseason, after a flurry of villa construction, we have tripledour inventory of overnight accommodation.”

STORY OF TWO TOMS

Forest Dunes had already established itself on the golfscene. Its existing Tom Weiskopf design, set within theHuron National Forest, is ranked No. 23 in Golf Digest’s100 Greatest Public Golf Courses. “My course at ForestDunes replicates classic style and emulates a risk/rewardinvolvement on most every hole,” said Weiskopf. “I consid-

8 EXECUTIVE GOLFER JUnE 2017 JUnE 2017 EXECUTIVE GOLFER 9

The Publisher’s Page The Publisher’s Page

er it to be in the top three of courses in the United Statesthat I have been involved in.”

With little new golf course construction in America,Lew had his choice of the best architects for a second golfcourse. “Tom Doak was my pick from day one,” recalledLew. “The bigger question was could I afford him? I had adual mandate to create something that was really good, yetnot stupidly expensive.”

After a superb introductory meeting, Lew offered Doaka $15,000 stipend to survey the land. Three months later,the phone rings, “Lew, let’s get together,” said Doak.

The two sat down to review plans and the initial analy-sis wasn’t positive. “Tom, I don’t want to hurt your feelingsbut I’m not impressed,” sheepishly said Lew. “What youhave given me is just another course. We aren’t next to anocean nor on a mountain. I need something so compellingthat golfers from around the country—no, for that matteraround the world—would want to travel here.”

“I thought you would say that,” replied Doak as herolled up his blueprint and presented his big idea. “This isa concept I have thought about for 30 years,” said Doak ashe laid down a new sketch. “I think you have the right siteand are the right client to understand the appeal of areversible course, allowing golfers to play it both ways. Youare getting two courses in one.”

Lew was stunned and hesitant. Thoughts raced throughhis mind. Yes, this is different and intriguing, but would

core golfers find it to be a gimmick?Doak pressed his case. “The idea of a reversible course

is not as revolutionary as it sounds,” explained Doak. “ManyScottish links, including The Old Course at St. Andrews,were played in reverse in winter to spread out the wear andtear of divots. Architects, including Tom Simpson andAlister MacKenzie, designed private estate courses with ahandful of reversible holes. But, as far as I know, there is no18-hole course in the world today that is played in reverseon a regular basis.”

“Tom, can you assure me this will work?” asked Lew.“No,” responded Doak. “It is a little bit of a roll of the

dice. We don’t know how good until it’s done. Any archi-tect telling you otherwise isn’t being truthful.”

Lew green lighted the concept and construction com-menced two years ago on The Loop at Forest Dunes.

The Loop, now open for play, features two distinct lay-outs using the same 18 greens but playing clockwise one day(black routing) and counterclockwise the next (red routing).

“If you know Tom, he is a man of few words,” conclud-ed Lew. “I asked, ‘ok, the course is complete and the grassis grown in. Tom, what have we got here?’”

“It’s good. It’s really, really good,” complimented Doak.“His praise validated my belief we have created a golf

destination worthy of a trip,” concluded Lew. ■

For information, please visit ForestDunesGolf.com.

“FOREST DUNES has always been Northern Michigan’s enigma. No other course in the state has been more lauded by critics creating those coveted ‘best of’ lists.” – GOLF CHANNEL

“STUBBORN BUT FAIR, combining high risk with rare reward, Forest Dunes joins Bethpage Black in New York, Pasatiempo in California, Pine Needles in North Carolina, and Pacific Dunes in Oregon among my top five public courses in the country. ”

– MATT GINELLA, SENIOR TRAVEL EDITOR, GOLF DIGEST

The Doak Course is firm and fast.The Weiskopf Course is plush and rugged.